With QB injuries mounting, Vince Young wonders why he isn’t getting called

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on October 24, 2013, 12:09 AM EDT

AP

Many starting quarterbacks around the league have gone down with injuries in recent weeks forcing teams to look outside their organizations for help at the position.

The St. Louis Rams lost Sam Bradford for the season to a torn ACL. The Chicago Bears will be without Jay Cutler for at least a month after tearing his groin. The Cleveland Browns lost Brian Hoyer to a torn ACL as well. It’s created roster spots for free agent quarterbacks to find new teams to play for.

However, one quarterback still not getting a call is Vince Young.

The Rams signed two quarterbacks after the injury to Sam Bradford. The Buffalo Bills added Matt Flynn after his release from the Oakland Raiders. The Chicago Bears re-signed Jordan Palmer. In an interview with Alex Marvez and Gil Brandt on Sirius XM NFL Radio, Young questioned why he’s not getting a chance.

“Me and my wife and all my peers and fans, we’re all trying to figure this stuff out. I don’t have the slightest idea. It’s like a huge question mark over my head every day I wake up in the morning to take care of my responsibilities and know I should be playing,” Young said. “To not have one of those calls, it’s tough.”

Young spent the preseason with the Green Bay Packers and looked to have made the final 53-man roster when the team released Graham Harrell. However, Young was also let go as the team elected to keep just two quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers and B.J. Coleman. Young completed 6 of 7 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown with three carries for 39 yards in an impressive showing against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3 of the preseason. He finished the preseason completing 53-percent of his passes with a touchdown and no interceptions in four games played.

“All the work I put into that short time I was there I was very shocked to get cut and to hear that news the next day,” Young said.

Young has been without a job ever since.

“You’ve got to still wake up every day and do what you have to,” Young said. “I’ve got my little ones running around that I have to take care of and try not to think about the negative of it and hopefully the opportunity will come knocking on the door or the phone will ring.”

Both he and Tebow really should have jobs right now as backups. They’ve both done a lot more winning at this level than the likes of Brady Quinn, Jordan Palmer, Austin Davis, etc. Both are clearly being blackballed by the league for reasons other than football and it’s sad.

The Browns seriously have nothing to lose signing VY and taking a chance. I guess nobody can look past what happened in Tennessee. Kinda feel bad for the guy. There’s definitely a nice handful of QBs that started for NFL teams this year that can’t hold a candle to VY’s athleticism.

For a backup QB, teams are generally either looking for a young player with potential or a seasoned veteran that can help mentor the starter. At age 30, he’s not young anymore and nobody sees him as a veteran mentor. So that doesn’t leave him with many options.

Whatever his issues,he has shown at least as much ability as most of these retreads,and shown a whole lot more than some of them…it does seem the barrel is being scraped pretty hard without his name coming up….

IT’S OVER!!!
Get a real job like so many other NFL players do when the time comes. Can you not even get a job from some rich UofT alum who only remembers you before you went loco (or at least before the world knew you were)?

It all boils down to risk vs reward. I like Vince as a player, and I am pretty sure he could win some games for some folks. That episode that happened a few years back is scary for the PR department though. With all the gun violence and workplace shootings in the news cycle, the risk is greater than the reward at this point for NFL teams that are trying to maintain and grow their brand. Maybe Vince needs to get an all-clear from more than one pshrink and clear the air.